The present disclosure relates generally to medical monitoring devices and, more particularly, to intermittent operating pulse oximeters.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In the field of medicine, doctors often desire to monitor certain physiological parameters of their patients. Accordingly, a wide variety of devices have been developed for monitoring physiological parameters. Such devices provide doctors and other healthcare personnel with the information they need to provide the best possible healthcare for their patients. As a result, such monitoring devices have become an indispensable part of modern medicine.
One technique for monitoring certain physiological parameters of a patient is commonly referred to as pulse oximetry, and the devices built based upon pulse oximetry techniques are commonly referred to as pulse oximeters. Pulse oximetry may be used to measure various blood flow characteristics, such as the blood-oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in arterial blood (SpO2), the volume of individual blood pulsations supplying the tissue, and/or the rate of blood pulsations corresponding to each heartbeat of a patient.
Pulse oximeters typically utilize a non-invasive sensor that is placed on or against a patient's tissue that is well perfused with blood, such as a patient's finger, toe, forehead or earlobe. The pulse oximeter sensor emits light and photoelectrically senses the absorption and/or scattering of the light after passage through the perfused tissue. The data collected by the sensor may then be used to calculate one or more of the above physiological parameters based upon the absorption or scattering of the light. More specifically, the emitted light is typically selected to be of one or more wavelengths that are absorbed and/or scattered in an amount related to the presence of oxygenated versus de-oxygenated hemoglobin in the blood. The amount of light absorbed and/or scattered may then be used to estimate the amount of oxygen in the tissue using various algorithms.
In certain situations it may be desirable to have a pulse oximeter that is small, lightweight, inexpensive, and that uses batteries to operate. For example, such battery powered monitors may be used when conventional monitors may be too heavy and bulky to be moved from one patient to another or when medical treatment is desired in a remote location and access to a conventional power source may not be available. However, the batteries may be drained fairly quickly in such pulse oximeters and, thus, require frequent replacement.
The same is true for wireless sensors. Wireless sensors may be desirable to check a patient's status without encumbering the patient with an additional wire. Typically, due to the fact that there is not a wire powering the sensors, wireless sensors require conventional or rechargeable batteries to operate. During operation, the batteries may be drained from performing measurements and transmitting the data. Consequently, the conventional batteries may require replacement, and the rechargeable batteries may need to be recharged, which may present a problem when drained in a remote location where a conventional power source is not available.